Five Reasons You’ll Want To Avoid Mold

Whether it’s in your bathroom, a bedroom or even your kitchen, seeing mold growth around your home is never a good thing. But why exactly do people hate mold so much? Here are 5 undeniable reasons why.

1. THE HEALTH RISKS

Mold can pose health risks. Exposure to mold in damp environments can cause everything from nasal stuffiness to throat irritations. In some cases, it can irritate your skin, causing you to scratch it uncontrollably and if you’re exposed for a long time, it may even lead to lung conditions. We always make the analogy that is like a bee sting; some people get a small welt and some need an EpiPen; either way everyone is affected to it to some degree.

Unfortunately you may not see the effects right away. The longer or more repeated your exposure to breathing in microscopic spores the worse these conditions could get. It’s always in your best interest to stay away from areas with mold. Contact a medical professional and mold removal service company if someone in the home has sensitivities to mold growth and/or infants present in the home.

2. MALODOR

If you’re experiencing a musty smell in your home then there’s a good chance that it’s mold and/or bacteria growing. Mold and bacteria release VOC’s  as they grow causing a foul smell. The musty smell of mold and bacteria is incredibly unpleasant and gets worse the longer it sits wet. It can make your entire home smell bad and the smell can even start to stick to things like your clothes, shower curtains, towel and washcloths.

If you start smelling something musty in your home, it’s a great indicator that microbial growth is occurring somewhere and vital that you start looking for any visible signs of water damage, moisture intrusion, and/or elevated indoor humidity.

3. IT IS COSTLY

Some people try to clean off visible mold growth, and that’s fine on a non-porous surface, but the reality is that if you have to tear anything out it will agitate the growth causing spores to go airborne; creating a more dangerous respiratory issue for you and the occupants of the home. Mold remediation done properly requires a lot of trained labor hours, expensive equipment and filters.

It’s always a good idea to hire a mold remediation contractor if mold has grown to a level which would require significant containment and job requires negative pressure. Mold remediation projects are costly.

4. POTENTIAL SIGNS OF SERIOUS LEAKS OR MOISTURE ISSUES

Mold is typically a sign that your home is suffering from some kind of water damage or moisture issues. For instance, there could be a plumbing leak which is causing water to spread around the structure of your home, creating damp patches that may only start to show themselves through the visual presence of microbial growth. These issues could lead to some serious plumbing work or construction to help remediate growth from reappearing after it has been removed.

5. THE BATTLE AGAINST MOLD

Just like an outdoor plant mold needs the presence of water to begin or continue to grow. Preventing it can sometimes prove to be extremely difficult, especially in state’s with very humid climates. No matter how much effort you put into it, some homes just aren’t designed well, and have a hard time avoiding the unsightly growth.

For example, if your bathroom is small you will need some sort of engineering control (i.e. exhaust fan) to allow the humid steam to escape the room after taking a hot shower. However, if you don’t have an exhaust fan then you would need to determine a second best option while closely monitoring the humidity  to ensure the building materials are not exposed to the very humid environment for an extended period of time.

The battle intensifies with mold if it becomes airborne. It can quickly and very easily spread to different rooms within the structure; settling on different surfaces which may be damp enough for a new colony to begin growing. Its growth can become exponential and the only way you can stop it is to completely control the moisture and remove the visible and non-visible spores from the dwelling.

So what can we do to best protect our home? Simple, if you have a leak or humidity problem, take swift (24HR) action to dry it out or remove the wet building materials, that’s it. Without water or elevated humidity mold will never grow.

Source: Home Angels